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<span class="breadcrumb-node">Getting started with cross-cluster replication</span>
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<div class="section xpack">
<div class="titlepage"><div><div>
<h2 class="title">
<a id="ccr-getting-started"></a>Getting started with cross-cluster replication<a class="edit_me edit_me_private" rel="nofollow" title="Editing on GitHub is available to Elastic" href="https://github.com/elastic/elasticsearch/edit/7.7/docs/reference/ccr/getting-started.asciidoc">edit</a><a class="xpack_tag" href="/subscriptions"></a>
</h2>
</div></div></div>
<p>This getting-started guide for cross-cluster replication shows you how to:</p>
<div class="ulist itemizedlist">
<ul class="itemizedlist">
<li class="listitem">
<a class="xref" href="ccr-getting-started.html#ccr-getting-started-remote-cluster" title="Connecting to a remote cluster">Connect a local cluster to a remote
cluster</a>
</li>
<li class="listitem">
<a class="xref" href="ccr-getting-started.html#ccr-getting-started-leader-index" title="Creating a leader index">Create a leader index</a> in a remote cluster
</li>
<li class="listitem">
<a class="xref" href="ccr-getting-started.html#ccr-getting-started-follower-index" title="Creating a follower index">Create a follower index</a> that replicates
a leader index
</li>
<li class="listitem">
<a class="xref" href="ccr-getting-started.html#ccr-getting-started-auto-follow" title="Automatically create follower indices">Automatically create follower indices</a>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="section">
<div class="titlepage"><div><div>
<h3 class="title">
<a id="ccr-getting-started-before-you-begin"></a>Before you begin<a class="edit_me edit_me_private" rel="nofollow" title="Editing on GitHub is available to Elastic" href="https://github.com/elastic/elasticsearch/edit/7.7/docs/reference/ccr/getting-started.asciidoc">edit</a>
</h3>
</div></div></div>
<div class="olist orderedlist">
<ol class="orderedlist">
<li class="listitem">
<a href="/guide/en/elastic-stack-get-started/7.7/get-started-elastic-stack.html#install-elasticsearch" class="ulink" target="_top">Install Elasticsearch</a>
on your local and remote clusters.
</li>
<li class="listitem">
Obtain a license that includes the cross-cluster replication features. See
<a href="/subscriptions" class="ulink" target="_top">subscriptions</a> and
<a href="/guide/en/kibana/7.7/managing-licenses.html" class="ulink" target="_top">License management</a>.
</li>
<li class="listitem">
<p>If the Elastic security features are enabled in your local and remote
clusters, you need a user that has appropriate authority to perform the steps
in this tutorial.</p>
<p><a id="ccr-getting-started-security"></a>The cross-cluster replication features use cluster privileges and built-in roles to make it easier
to control which users have authority to manage cross-cluster replication.</p>
<p>By default, you can perform all of the steps in this tutorial by
using the built-in <code class="literal">elastic</code> user. However, a password must be set for this user
before the user can do anything. For information about how to set that password,
see <a class="xref" href="security-getting-started.html" title="Tutorial: Getting started with security"><em>Tutorial: Getting started with security</em></a>.</p>
<p>If you are performing these steps in a production environment, take extra care
because the <code class="literal">elastic</code> user has the <code class="literal">superuser</code> role and you could inadvertently
make significant changes.</p>
<p>Alternatively, you can assign the appropriate privileges to a user ID of your
choice. On the remote cluster that contains the leader index, a user will need
the <code class="literal">read_ccr</code> cluster privilege and <code class="literal">monitor</code> and <code class="literal">read</code> privileges on the
leader index.</p>
<div class="pre_wrapper lang-yml">
<pre class="programlisting prettyprint lang-yml">ccr_user:
  cluster:
    - read_ccr
  indices:
    - names: [ 'leader-index' ]
      privileges:
        - monitor
        - read</pre>
</div>
<p>On the local cluster that contains the follower index, the same user will need
the <code class="literal">manage_ccr</code> cluster privilege and <code class="literal">monitor</code>, <code class="literal">read</code>, <code class="literal">write</code> and
<code class="literal">manage_follow_index</code> privileges on the follower index.</p>
<div class="pre_wrapper lang-yml">
<pre class="programlisting prettyprint lang-yml">ccr_user:
  cluster:
    - manage_ccr
  indices:
    - names: [ 'follower-index' ]
      privileges:
        - monitor
        - read
        - write
        - manage_follow_index</pre>
</div>
<p>If you are managing
<a class="xref" href="ccr-getting-started.html#ccr-getting-started-remote-cluster" title="Connecting to a remote cluster">connecting to the remote cluster</a> via the
cluster update settings API, you will also need a user with the <code class="literal">all</code> cluster
privilege.</p>
</li>
</ol>
</div>
</div>

<div class="section">
<div class="titlepage"><div><div>
<h3 class="title">
<a id="ccr-getting-started-remote-cluster"></a>Connecting to a remote cluster<a class="edit_me edit_me_private" rel="nofollow" title="Editing on GitHub is available to Elastic" href="https://github.com/elastic/elasticsearch/edit/7.7/docs/reference/ccr/getting-started.asciidoc">edit</a>
</h3>
</div></div></div>
<p>The cross-cluster replication features require that you
<a href="/guide/en/elasticsearch/reference/7.7/modules-remote-clusters.html" class="ulink" target="_top">connect your local cluster to a remote
cluster</a>. In this tutorial, we will connect our local cluster to a remote
cluster with the cluster alias <code class="literal">leader</code>.</p>
<div class="pre_wrapper lang-console">
<pre class="programlisting prettyprint lang-console">PUT /_cluster/settings
{
  "persistent" : {
    "cluster" : {
      "remote" : {
        "leader" : {
          "seeds" : [
            "127.0.0.1:9300" <a id="CO457-1"></a><i class="conum" data-value="1"></i>
          ]
        }
      }
    }
  }
}</pre>
</div>
<div class="console_widget" data-snippet="snippets/1174.console"></div>
<div class="calloutlist">
<table border="0" summary="Callout list">
<tr>
<td align="left" valign="top" width="5%">
<p><a href="#CO457-1"><i class="conum" data-value="1"></i></a></p>
</td>
<td align="left" valign="top">
<p>Specifies the hostname and transport port of a seed node in the remote
cluster.</p>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</div>
<p>You can verify that the local cluster is successfully connected to the remote
cluster.</p>
<div class="pre_wrapper lang-console">
<pre class="programlisting prettyprint lang-console">GET /_remote/info</pre>
</div>
<div class="console_widget" data-snippet="snippets/1175.console"></div>
<p>The API will respond by showing that the local cluster is connected to the
remote cluster.</p>
<div class="pre_wrapper lang-console-result">
<pre class="programlisting prettyprint lang-console-result">{
  "leader" : {
    "seeds" : [
      "127.0.0.1:9300"
    ],
    "connected" : true, <a id="CO458-1"></a><i class="conum" data-value="1"></i>
    "num_nodes_connected" : 1, <a id="CO458-2"></a><i class="conum" data-value="2"></i>
    "max_connections_per_cluster" : 3,
    "initial_connect_timeout" : "30s",
    "skip_unavailable" : false,
    "mode" : "sniff"
  }
}</pre>
</div>
<div class="calloutlist">
<table border="0" summary="Callout list">
<tr>
<td align="left" valign="top" width="5%">
<p><a href="#CO458-1"><i class="conum" data-value="1"></i></a></p>
</td>
<td align="left" valign="top">
<p>This shows the local cluster is connected to the remote cluster with cluster
alias <code class="literal">leader</code></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left" valign="top" width="5%">
<p><a href="#CO458-2"><i class="conum" data-value="2"></i></a></p>
</td>
<td align="left" valign="top">
<p>This shows the number of nodes in the remote cluster the local cluster is
connected to.</p>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</div>
<p>Alternatively, you can manage remote clusters on the
<span class="strong strong"><strong>Management / Elasticsearch / Remote Clusters</strong></span> page in Kibana:</p>
<div class="imageblock screenshot">
<div class="content">
<img src="images/remote-clusters.jpg" alt="The Remote Clusters page in Kibana">
</div>
</div>
</div>

<div class="section">
<div class="titlepage"><div><div>
<h3 class="title">
<a id="ccr-getting-started-leader-index"></a>Creating a leader index<a class="edit_me edit_me_private" rel="nofollow" title="Editing on GitHub is available to Elastic" href="https://github.com/elastic/elasticsearch/edit/7.7/docs/reference/ccr/getting-started.asciidoc">edit</a>
</h3>
</div></div></div>
<p>In the following example, we will create a leader index in the remote cluster:</p>
<div class="pre_wrapper lang-console">
<pre class="programlisting prettyprint lang-console">PUT /server-metrics
{
  "settings" : {
    "index" : {
      "number_of_shards" : 1,
      "number_of_replicas" : 0
    }
  },
  "mappings" : {
    "properties" : {
      "@timestamp" : {
        "type" : "date"
      },
      "accept" : {
        "type" : "long"
      },
      "deny" : {
        "type" : "long"
      },
      "host" : {
        "type" : "keyword"
      },
      "response" : {
        "type" : "float"
      },
      "service" : {
        "type" : "keyword"
      },
      "total" : {
        "type" : "long"
      }
    }
  }
}</pre>
</div>
<div class="console_widget" data-snippet="snippets/1176.console"></div>
</div>

<div class="section">
<div class="titlepage"><div><div>
<h3 class="title">
<a id="ccr-getting-started-follower-index"></a>Creating a follower index<a class="edit_me edit_me_private" rel="nofollow" title="Editing on GitHub is available to Elastic" href="https://github.com/elastic/elasticsearch/edit/7.7/docs/reference/ccr/getting-started.asciidoc">edit</a>
</h3>
</div></div></div>
<p>Follower indices are created with the <a href="/guide/en/elasticsearch/reference/7.7/ccr-put-follow.html" class="ulink" target="_top">create follower
API</a>. When you create a follower index, you must reference the
<a class="xref" href="ccr-getting-started.html#ccr-getting-started-remote-cluster" title="Connecting to a remote cluster">remote cluster</a> and the
<a class="xref" href="ccr-getting-started.html#ccr-getting-started-leader-index" title="Creating a leader index">leader index</a> that you created in the remote
cluster.</p>
<div class="pre_wrapper lang-console">
<pre class="programlisting prettyprint lang-console">PUT /server-metrics-copy/_ccr/follow?wait_for_active_shards=1
{
  "remote_cluster" : "leader",
  "leader_index" : "server-metrics"
}</pre>
</div>
<div class="console_widget" data-snippet="snippets/1177.console"></div>
<p>The follower index is initialized using the <a class="xref" href="remote-recovery.html" title="Remote recovery">remote recovery</a>
process. The remote recovery process transfers the existing Lucene segment files
from the leader to the follower. When the remote recovery process is complete,
the index following begins.</p>
<p>Now when you index documents into your leader index, you will see these
documents replicated in the follower index. You can
inspect the status of replication using the
<a href="/guide/en/elasticsearch/reference/7.7/ccr-get-follow-stats.html" class="ulink" target="_top">get follower stats API</a>.</p>
</div>

<div class="section">
<div class="titlepage"><div><div>
<h3 class="title">
<a id="ccr-getting-started-auto-follow"></a>Automatically create follower indices<a class="edit_me edit_me_private" rel="nofollow" title="Editing on GitHub is available to Elastic" href="https://github.com/elastic/elasticsearch/edit/7.7/docs/reference/ccr/getting-started.asciidoc">edit</a>
</h3>
</div></div></div>
<p>The <a class="xref" href="ccr-auto-follow.html" title="Automatically following indices">auto-follow</a> feature in cross-cluster replication helps for time series use
cases where you want to follow new indices that are periodically created in the
remote cluster (such as daily Beats indices). Auto-following is configured using
the <a href="/guide/en/elasticsearch/reference/7.7/ccr-put-auto-follow-pattern.html" class="ulink" target="_top">create auto-follow pattern API</a>. With
an auto-follow pattern, you reference the
<a class="xref" href="ccr-getting-started.html#ccr-getting-started-remote-cluster" title="Connecting to a remote cluster">remote cluster</a> that you connected your
local cluster to. You must also specify a collection of  patterns that match the
indices you want to automatically follow.</p>
<p>For example:</p>
<div class="pre_wrapper lang-console">
<pre class="programlisting prettyprint lang-console">PUT /_ccr/auto_follow/beats
{
  "remote_cluster" : "leader",
  "leader_index_patterns" :
  [
    "metricbeat-*", <a id="CO459-1"></a><i class="conum" data-value="1"></i>
    "packetbeat-*" <a id="CO459-2"></a><i class="conum" data-value="2"></i>
  ],
  "follow_index_pattern" : "{{leader_index}}-copy" <a id="CO459-3"></a><i class="conum" data-value="3"></i>
}</pre>
</div>
<div class="console_widget" data-snippet="snippets/1178.console"></div>
<div class="calloutlist">
<table border="0" summary="Callout list">
<tr>
<td align="left" valign="top" width="5%">
<p><a href="#CO459-1"><i class="conum" data-value="1"></i></a></p>
</td>
<td align="left" valign="top">
<p>Automatically follow new Metricbeat indices.</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left" valign="top" width="5%">
<p><a href="#CO459-2"><i class="conum" data-value="2"></i></a></p>
</td>
<td align="left" valign="top">
<p>Automatically follow new Packetbeat indices.</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left" valign="top" width="5%">
<p><a href="#CO459-3"><i class="conum" data-value="3"></i></a></p>
</td>
<td align="left" valign="top">
<p>The name of the follower index is derived from the name of the leader index
by adding the suffix <code class="literal">-copy</code> to the name of the leader index.</p>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</div>
<p>Alternatively, you can manage auto-follow patterns on the
<span class="strong strong"><strong>Management / Elasticsearch / Cross Cluster Replication</strong></span> page in Kibana:</p>
<div class="imageblock screenshot">
<div class="content">
<img src="images/auto-follow-patterns.jpg" alt="The Auto-follow patterns page in Kibana">
</div>
</div>
</div>

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